‘Hetmyer one of the most dangerous players at World Cup’

MUMBAI, India (CMC):

Following his impressive performance against Zimbabwe on Monday, legendary Australian batsman Ricky Ponting has described Shimron Hetmyer as one of "the most dangerous players" at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Hetmyer recorded the fastest-ever 50 by a West Indian at a T20 World Cup, off just 19 balls, on his way to bludgeoning 85 runs off 34 balls with seven sixes and seven fours, to lead West Indies to a convincing 107-run victory in their opening Super Eights match at the Wankhede Stadium.

It was his second half-century in five innings at the tournament. He now has the second most runs (219) behind Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan, who has scored 220 runs.

In an interview posted on the ICC's social media pages, Ponting, who has scored over 27, 000 runs in all formats and is regarded as one of Australia's greatest-ever batsmen, said while other players had excelled at the World Cup, Hetmyer stood out as one of the brightest stars.

He said the fact that Hetmyer was accustomed to playing on big stages such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), meant he was not phased in big moments.

"They've got a few playing well at the moment, but I'm going to single Hetmyer out.

"I think when I talk about experience and guys who've played on big stages before, Hetmyer has played a lot of IPL cricket now, so the stage and the enormity of Super Eights cricket and semi-final cricket for him shouldn't be that big a deal," Ponting said.

"I like the fact that he's batting up the order now for the West Indies, so I think he's one of the more dangerous players going forward in this tournament."